He said it was no longer enough to brand the BNP racist and ignore the real concerns of people about migration and the "race to the bottom" in wages caused by globalisation.

His constituents had seen their wages undercut by migrant workers, he told the meeting, and he cited the case of a "gang of Lithuanian blokes" he discovered who were earning £15 a day working on a public contract.

"Migrant workers have been tacitly used to deregulate Labour markets.

"This celebration of this flexible modern labour market that we have is not a panacea for a lot of the people I represent.

"It means that there is a race to the bottom of the labour market occurring," he told the meeting.

The Dagenham MP, 44, has said he will run for the deputy leadership as and when a vacancy arises - something his campaign say they expect to happen by the summer.

'Rebel'

He says he wants to distance the role of deputy leader from the deputy prime ministership.

Other declared contenders for John Prescott's job include Alan Johnson, Peter Hain and Harriet Harman.

Mr Cruddas was Tony Blair's deputy political secretary between 1999-2001 and has been MP since 2001.

He said he was first approached by members of the party wanting him to stand a few weeks ago.

Despite his work for Mr Blair, he is seen as on the left of the party and has rebelled against the government over the imposition of university tuition fees.

Mr Cruddas says he planned to open a campaign office within the next seven days and is expected to name the MPs, members and trade unions who back his bid in the coming weeks.